From the category archives:

Digital Marketing

Facebook Features and the Fan Page

October 3, 2011

From DoctorBase
While we certainly don’t expect Fan Pages to be abandoned by Facebook, it does appear that they’ve taken a backseat to social engagement between users in Facebook’s current plans.
Their conclusions are similar to mine.
The announced changes may make the user experience better but I do not see how they will enhace Facebook for small [...]

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Time To Update Your Dental Practice Website

September 29, 2011

Here is a link to my latest article on DentalCompare.
Like it or not your patients and even more importantly your potential new patients are using the web to find you and find out about you. The second worst thing that can happen is for a potential new patient, … to look you up on Google and [...]

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Small Business Social Media Engagement?

September 26, 2011

American Express Open Forum article
A new study came out this week by Roost, a tech company focused on helping small businesses go social, about the best ways for small companies to achieve maximum engagement on social networks
The article lists three ways small businesses (like a dental office) can use social media effectively. These are photos, questions and [...]

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Dental Website Redesign

September 19, 2011

When did you last update your practice web site? For most dentists the answer is…I don’t know.
As a general rule websites should be updated at least once a year and the best sites are updated constantly. Then every two to three years you should consider a complete web makeover. Follow the link for some help [...]

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Facebook Unveils New Friends Lists

September 16, 2011

I read about this supposed big advance at several online tech sites but don’t see how it will make much of a difference. Either Facebook is just for true close friends, which means it has little or no use as a marketing system or it is a broad system to contact hundreds of people you really [...]

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More Fake Review Issues

September 14, 2011

More insights and examples from the smart guys at DoctorBase
Since Google’s review algorithm is relatively young, we’re seeing it being taken advantage of by some practices.
via Online Reviews, Internet Marketing, & Word-of-Mouth Marketing Advice for Dentists & Physicians.

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How To Remove Negative Reviews from Google

September 13, 2011

If your business finds itself the victim of negative reviews that have the potential to significantly harm your online reputation, as well as your bottom line, don’t panic. Although removing and burying negative reviews on Google can be extremely frustrating, it is by no means impossible.
The linked article describes several steps a business owner (dentist) [...]

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Groupon Best Practices

September 10, 2011

The smart people at DoctorBase have posted an article on using Groupon.
We’ve coordinated a number of Groupon deals for our doctors, and have seen great success with deals focusing on elective services discounted to around the $200 mark.
They outline how it works and even more importantly how it doesn’t work and when it can be [...]

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Oregon Dental Board Bans Groupons

September 6, 2011

Interesting article linked below. Personally I find the legal theory the board used to ban Groupon to be pretty weak. Never the less it is interesting as it may represent the tip of a new reactionary attack on Groupon and by extension social media and how it affects professional practice. On the other hand it [...]

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6 Tough Questions To Ask An SEO Agency

August 30, 2011

If you are reading this blog you are (by definition) aware of the power of the Internet to spread information. The Internet has fundamentally changed how people seek and find information, which in turn has destroyed the old ways of business communication like printed magazines and yellow pages ads.
Actually there are two things which have [...]

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SEO and Small Business: What’s really needed?

August 16, 2011

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is designed to improve your position and Google. There are all kinds of techniques including keywords. meta tags, and various “secret” formulas SEO firms use to improve a web sites search engine ranking.
On the other hand Google is always refining their search algorithms and take great pains not [...]

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QR Codes for Dentists

August 9, 2011

I believe QR (Quick Response) codes have tremendous potential and are a tool dentists should consider using. However the infographic below from Mashable has some interesting information to keep in mind before using QR codes.
First most people 58% did not know what a QR code was. Second in order to use a QR code the customer [...]

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Most Facebook Fans of Small Businesses Arent Local

August 8, 2011

According to the linked article the vast majority (like 85%) of people who “like” a local business do not live in the area. This has obvious implications for dentists. Almost all our “customers” our patients are local. In fact very local. Location and convenience are prime factors for people choosing a dentist.
The theory is that [...]

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Impact of Google Change

July 28, 2011

The radical change in how Google aggregates and displays user reviews has many implications and fall out for dentists. One obvious one is “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Or to say it in a more businesslike fashion, diversify.
A strong online footprint should include a web page, social media, search engine utilization, e-mails, [...]

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Googling for Dentists

July 28, 2011

The only way to be sure you will appear on the first page of Google is to buy it. More or less.
That is you buy an ad and you Pay Per Click, PPC. The ad will appear in a Google search as a “sponsored link” based on the “keywords” you have bid on. [...]

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Do our older patients need more dental work?

July 27, 2011

The correct answer to this question could affect all kinds of things we do in the dental office; from the supplies we order to the services we provide even to our office location. However, prior to the use of digital technology, getting answers to these simple questions was tedious, expensive and unreliable. As a result [...]

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BIG Change @ Google Places

July 26, 2011

Google Places has made some radical changes to how they aggregate and display reviews. They no longer display reviews from third parties like Yelp, Citysearch and Demandforce on a business “Places” page and they no longer use those reviews in the overall star rating of each business.
This is in response to threatened legal action from [...]

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What are Patients Looking For?

July 26, 2011

Sesame Communications has completed an extensive research project looking into what people want and just as important what they don’t want from a dental practice web page. The results are available in a white paper called “Effective Practice Marketing in the 24-7 Digital Age of Dentistry” you can find online here:
I will be blogging about [...]

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Yelp

July 25, 2011

Another report on Yelp from DoctorBase. As I have written in the past I believe…on a theoretical basis…that more open communication is a good thing and that subpar dentists and physicians should be brought to the attention of the public…BUT…The system as it is, is rife with the potential for abuse.
One of our own doctors [...]

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Key Word Strategy

July 22, 2011

As people have learned to use search engines like Google efficiently for finding information and for shopping they have developed effective search and key word strategies. If we understand these strategies we can better provide the information people are seeking. If we do that we have a better chance of demonstrating to them that we [...]

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